classics digests and reviews

“The New Theory of Urban Design” by Christopher Alexander

Vision

“Every project must first be experienced, and then expressed, as a vision which can be seen in the inner eye (literally). It must have this quality so strongly that it can also be communicated to others, and felt by others, as a vision.”

“This vision is a literal thing. It is not merely an idea or concept, but a thing seen and felt in the mind’s eye as in a dream, perhaps literally seen in a dream. And as a result, it has intensely personal feeling.”

“An authentic vision comes into your mind, because it springs from the understanding of the whole, it presents itself to you, as the completion of the whole, as the form of life, the place, the organization which does most to bring the entire thing to life, still more, as a totality.”

“But to the extent that your inner ear is accurate, to the extent that you can listen to what project in its totality is calling for, you will produce something far more wonderful than anything you could dream of by trying to be original.”